Hi all! Just wanted to stop through to add a styling idea to the blog for my fellow fashionistas this weekend. Stylish mamas, when you finally get a chance to have a day (or night) on the town with no children in tow, what do you wear? Do you keep it nice and comfortable with jeans and sneakers as I do most of the time? Or do you take this opportunity to break out your pumps and paint the town red as I do on special occasions?

If you went with option two, I hope you like this look! I'm loving yellow with leopard print and red accents these days, so I thought this would be a fun look to rock for mama's day out! And you know you can never go wrong with black pumps!

COCOTIQUE is a luxury subscription box that caters to women of color. As a woman who loves subscription boxes, I was elated to learn about a subscription service that caters to my skin care, hair care, and beauty needs specifically. And when I saw that this service uses many brands that I love such as Shea Moisture, Milani, Black Radiance, I couldn't wait to get my hands on my complimentary box.

As a newbie, I am totally impressed with this subscription already! In this month's special 2 Year Anniversary Box featuring Hype Hair, subscribers received 8-12 full size and deluxe size hair + beauty products. Below I'll be sharing with you guys each product I received.

How is your hair journey going? Mine is going pretty good, for the most part. I ended an extremely long stretch last week with a texlaxing touch-up, so I haven't done much with my hair since then. And now that I'm over one week post, I decided it was time for a chelating cleanse. Check out my simple cleanse and conditioning session with ORS Olive Oil Shampoo and Conditioner below.

Today's post is all about creating a beginner-friendly celebrity inspired look. Here, we have the beautiful Tika Sumpter rocking a pinky-nude lip and wine "flush of blush" cheeks. Under the jump, I have a list of tried and true beauty favorites along with steps that will help you pull off this look effortlessly.

How do you decide what products to buy for your skincare? This is a question I have been asking myself and others repeatedly for years, as I've always been on the quest for perfect skin. This quest once appeared impossible, as for years I have dealt with acne, hyper-pigmentation, and the oiliest skin ever. I've tried quick fix solutions with makeup, I've tried mail-order products, department store gems that were all the rave, and about every other drugstore miracle product there was. It wasn't until recent years that I decided to take a simpler approach to caring for my skin. And through much trial and error, I have learned what works for me and what doesn't. I would like to share with you guys the five steps in which I tackled my skin care troubles and came up with a regimen that works for me. Hopefully this will be of help to someone else!

And just like that, August is now a thing of the past! And before you know it, fall will be wrapping on our doors. One of the things I've enjoyed the most about August is the We Are Booked Instagram Photo Challenge Tracie (@traciemomie) and I (@sodrewrites) and I hosted. Through this month-long photo-challenge, we had the opportunity to bond with fellow book-lovers--and it was truly an amazing experience!

Thanks to bonds formed with our new book friends, we have both added to our never-ending book lists as well as connected to gush over common favorites. We were blown away by the participation from you guys and are delighted to be sharing this eGift Card from Barnes & Noble with one lucky winner.

Hello loves, I'm Dre! I am a hoarder of books and lipsticks, cupcakes make me happy, music gets me lifted, and the 90's was the best decade ever. I thank you kindly for stopping by my space on the web. Come on in and make yourself comfortable.